A large and previously unknown stick insect has been discovered in the misty forests of Far North Queensland — and it might just be Australia's heaviest insect.
The giant stick insect has been named Acrophylla alta, a nod to its high-altitude habitat in the Atherton Tablelands, ABC reported.
James Cook University Adjunct Professor Angus Emmott and south-east Queensland scientist Ross Coupland searched for the stick insect after they received a photograph of what they believed was an unknown species.
Despite its elusive nature, they managed to find a large female at an elevation above 900 metres between Millaa Millaa and Mount Hypipamee in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
"We looked at its eggs after it laid some eggs and we were absolutely certain it was a new species," Mr Emmott said.
Two females have since been found, including one that a friend of Mr Emmott's found in a garden.
"They let it go afterwards, but they weighed it and photographed the weighing of it, and it was 44 grams," he said.
"I'm not sure exactly how to go about [verifying] that. I know the large burrowing cockroach was considered the heaviest insect, but it only gets into the mid-30 grams."Their findings have been published in the journal Zootaxa., Source: Article 2025-08-26T10:57:00+05:30
